University
of Pennsylvania Health Economist
starts term as Senior Adviser on Presidential Council

Daniel
Polsky associate professor of medicine and health care systems in the School
of Medicine and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania has
been invited to serve a one-year stint in Washington, D.C. as a senior health
economist advising members of President Bush's Council of Economic Advisors
(CEA).

Polsky, 41 will be one of eight senior
staff economists advising the three-member council on specific sectors
of the economy. His role will be to furnish studies and recommendations
with respect to matters of federal health policy and legislation as the
President may request. During his term, which begins July 23, he will
be on leave from his position at U Penn.

The CEA was established by the Employment
Act of 1946 to provide the president with objective economic analysis
and advice on the development and implementation of a wide range of domestic
and international economic policy issues. The CEA is a unique body within
the Executive Office of the President in that it is staffed by academics
and therefore, has a role of providing objective economic analysis rather
than serving any direct political function.

Polsky's research interests are in health
policy, particularly relating to health insurance and the valuation of
medical technology. This leave will give him an opportunity to get a new
perspective on his research by observing and participate in the policy-making
process during a time when health care policy is at the top of the national
agenda.